Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, England-headquartered Froneri, Europe’s second largest ice cream manufacturer and third biggest worldwide, will enter the Israeli market in earnest with the pending acquisition of Noga Ice Creams Limited Partnership, subject to regulatory approval which is expected by the end of September. Noga is part of the Nestlé-owned business Osem Group.
This deal will bring all of the Nestlé Europe, Middle East & North Africa ice cream businesses into the Froneri group, which is a Nestlé-R&R partnership company. The existing management team at Noga, headed by Ofer Green, will continue to lead the business in Israel.
Noga employs approximately 350 people who Nestlé and local ice cream brands including Extreme, La Cremeria, Cookilida, Crunch and Gumigum at a production plant in Kirjat Mal’achi.
“We’re very excited to be building on the strengths of our existing joint venture with Nestlé. By entering Israel we’re continuing to realize our vision of becoming the world’s best ice cream company,” said Froneri CEO Ibrahim Najafi. “We intend to invest in the local brands, products and flavors that Nestlé has been exciting the market with for over 20 years.”
Marco Settembri, Nestlé CEO for Zone Europe, Middle East and North Africa, commented: “This milestone deal marks the final stage of the transition of our EMENA ice cream businesses into Froneri, further strengthening its presence in the region.”
About Froneri
Formed in 2016 as a joint venture between French private equity firm PAI Partners and Nestlé, Froneri is present in over 20 countries, with revenues of €2.6 billion in 2018 and more than 10,000 people on its global payroll.
The roots of its consolidation journey, which began in 2006 with the creation of R&R, date back to 1932. That’s when Roncadin was formed. Eighty-four years later the Osnabrück, Germany-based company merged with Richmond Foods, Britain’s largest ice cream manufacturer.
“Froneri’s vision is to build the world’s best ice cream company,” said CEO Najafi. “We will grow organically, ahead of the sector, and drive profitability and cash generation to become best-in-class. Acquisitions will remain an important growth driver in the coming years and will enhance our scale and deliver synergies.”
